


His mark

by JAinsel



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 04:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5614540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JAinsel/pseuds/JAinsel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soulmate AU set in the South Side of Chicago where soulmates bear the same mark on the same part of their body.<br/>Nowadays they can find their other half just by registering on an internet site. But Mickey Milkovich is SO not going to do that...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mickey

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not satisfied with this fic but I don't wanna keep it collecting dust in my laptop folder. I started this story months ago and I decided to finally complete it.
> 
> Also, I don't think I'll ever write in present tense again.

_ At the beginning of time, when the souls were created, they co-existed in a pair of two. Two souls in two connected bodies. They lived in perfect harmony and they completed each others.  Alas, death made its appearance. It started taking one half, harvesting the soul and letting the body wither. The other half was in such agony that decided to cut where it was attached to the dead counterpart.  Every living other half did so, because the pain was too much to bear. When the time to die arrived also for the remaining halves, all of them were distinct bodies by then, with only a scar to testimony their missed part. _

_ Reborn again, the matched souls discovered that their other half had cut off their bond, condemning the ethereal entities to reside in single corporeal units. But they never lost hope. The hope to be reconnected with their soulmates again. So for every incarnation, the longing souls would recreate the mark of the original scars on their bodies, as a desperate beacon for the other halves to find them. _

… Or at least that’s the shit they tell you about in elementary school. Truth was, nobody fucking knew how, but every newborn has a mark impressed on some part of their body. And that it matches with another mark. Only one in the whole world. It goes without saying that is kind of the epitome of romance.

Movies, books, television shows. Every one exploits on the high horse of soulmating.  What was impossible a century ago, is now reality: finding your other half via internet or television. Programs like 'The Soulmate' –practically one person put together with twenty contestants. One of them is their soulmate, but they cannot show their mark. The one who chooses has to guess their rightful one in order to win a ton of money- or 'Mommy meet my soulmate' –mommy’s dearests presenting their awful soulmates: too poor, too stupid, of different religion, deformed…- rendered the whole soulmate thing a shit-show. Yet soulmates do exist and no scientific experiment can understand how it is even possible. Recently, the internet is the most used source to find your match. It’s not always trustworthy, what with so many sites trying to catfish you. However, thanks to the internet the chances of finding your other half are to the roof.

One site especially, ‘meetyoursoulmate.com’, is the most reliable. Its archives contain millions of matches. That is, millions of marks. Most of the people with a computer access, upload their marks and like a fingerprint, they can find their match, attached with a profile and a picture of the only one bearing their same design.

Yeah, that’s what ‘most of the people’ does. Some people don’t. Some are so romantic that believe they will meet their soulmate when the time will come and they’ll be able to recognize them straight away. Others… well, others are scared shitless of finding their true love.

Like that guy over there, with dark hair and blue eyes. Yes, the one who’s on the mentioned site as a visitor, scrolling down the posted ten pictures of marks allowed per day. Unfortunately for him, they are nearly one billion and his chances of finding his match, when there’s even the big possibility that his soulmate is not even on it, are pretty slim. There is only one way to verify if his match is present on the site and it is to create his own account, with face, body, and mark pictures together with a detailed profile. After that you press the ‘match’ button and it takes an hour or so, but at the end you’ll know the identity of your soulmate (granted is present on the site).

But what if that rough looking guy is gay? And what if he lives in South Side Chicago, residing in the infamous Milkovich family's house, the one with the criminal fag-basher dad? Could he really bring himself to create an account to find his MALE soulmate? Not a chance in hell. No son of Terry Milkovich is gay. Not finding the love of your life is not that terrible compared to the high chance of being beaten to death. Furthermore, so many people live their lives without ever finding their other half. The guy there figures he can bang some chick, knock her up and get married and drunk all the time for the rest of his life. If a bullet doesn’t kill him first.

The gay guy, who we can safely call by his real name, since surely sure no one here will go tell his dad, is Mickey Milkovich. He’s a thug, a petty thief and for all people know, also a homophobic prick. After scrolling down his limited load of pictures, Mickey groans and throws his phone on the bed.

No luck, as usual. Not that Mickey wants to find Him. He is only curious. Really, that all it is. His family doesn’t have a great history in soulmating. His father never bothered and married the miserable girl he had gotten pregnant. Iggy found his other half, but she lives on the other side of the world and they both are so poor that even booking the cheapest flight is a big thing. Mandy on the other side, is one of those saps who think love will come at the right place and right time. Yeah, sure.

Just as Mandy is mentioned in this story, the girl appears at Mickey’s door. “Knock-knock, fuckhead,” she greeted without bothering to actually knock and just barges in.

“Fuck you want?” Mickey asks, glaring at her with an annoyed look.

“Always so grumpy. I think swimming a little could help with that.”

“Uh? What?”

“We’re going to the swimming pool party at the Gallaghers. Ian has invited me,” explains Mandy.

“Good for you. Go alone,” Mickey snaps, receiving a deep sigh and a shake of Mandy’s head.

“No. C’mon Mick.” Since Mickey doesn’t appear to move an inch, Mandy gives in. “It’s gonna be full of Gallaghers there. They don’t have a great opinion on us Milkoviches, so… I figured if you’re there I’m to be the less of two evils, right?”

Mickey scoffs at her explanation. Then shrugs. “Yeah, alright. But you owe me a big one, skank. Hope there's free beer there.”

Mandy hugs him rather quickly, before giving him a chance to give her a titty twister. “My ol’bro is the best!” and dashes out to put on her bikini.

Mickey is not too pleased with this duty, but he figures he can do a change of scenery.

 

***

 

So here they are, in the backyard of the Gallagher family, full of snotty children, grilled burgers and a patched-up swimming pool with piss-warm water. The best you can get in the South Side.

Aware of being at the center of the attention, leaving Mandy free to blend in, Mickey smirks and gets himself a beer. Sipping the liquid without a care in the world, he watches his sister laughing with her handsome best friend. Yeah. Handsome. Mickey is in denial about his sexuality, but it doesn’t mean that he has no eyes. The two besties start to strip to jump in the swimming pool.

And that’s when it happens.

When Mickey sees the mark.

It’s _ his _ mark. On _ Ian’s _ belly. It’s shaped like a circle around the belly button, intertwined by dots and small, curved lines. On instinct, Mickey touches his own through the shirt. He has never been that scared, excited and all the way down to pass out like in this moment. His feet don’t know if they should run towards the soulmate or back home. So Mickey’s feet rest there. Still.

Mickey doesn’t know how much time passes, but at some point Mandy comes near him, looking worried.

“Hey, everything alright?”

Mickey manages to shrug. He nonchalantly takes a sip at his beer, spurting it out two seconds later because it became too warm.

“You sure? Don’t have a sunstroke?”

Mickey looks at her, scoffing. “Nah…” Then he fakes to have just remembered “Hey, the ginger’s mark… it looks like yours.” Mandy has nearly the same mark as Mickey. On the belly button, with a circle and dots, but no curved lines around them.

Mandy sighs. “Yeah, it _ looks _ . It’s not the same though. You know, I thought it was it when I saw Ian without his shirt during the P.E. class. So I tried to, you know, to have sex with him, but when I pulled up his shirt and looked closer at the mark… it was not it.” she pouts. At that time she really thought she scored a pretty guy for herself, only to see her dreams shattered the moment she had a better look at the mark.

Mickey only nods with a calm face, but a turmoil in his head.

“Oh, by the way. It looks like yours too, right? Don’t worry Mick, marks are just really similar. I learned it with Ian. I’m sure your soulmate is a C-cup chick who’ll give you a dozen children.”

Mickey has to force himself not to gag at that. But he thinks that maybe Mandy’s right. Maybe Gallagher’s mark is just similar to his.

There’s only one way to make sure of that.

 

***

 

Well, one way except confronting Ian, that is.

The same night, Mickey checks ‘Ian Clayton Gallagher’ on meetyoursoulmate. When you’re a visitor, if you put the name on the site, you’ll be able to see everything but the location, email and telephone number. Mickey scoffs at that. As if the location is what he’s looking for here. Ian’s profile appears in a matter of seconds. And here it is. The mark. There is no denying it. It matches Mickey’s in every fucking detail. Mickey puts his hands on his face.

What now?

 

***

 

What Mickey decides to do is stay the fuck away from Gallagher. Mickey closeted gay life cannot be discovered because of that carrot top.

What Mickey does, however, is to follow Ian almost stalker-like. Mickey would steal more stuff from the Kash&Grab and hang around more often than not with Mandy when Ian is at their house, playing some video-game. He also discovered a lot on Ian’s profile likes and dislikes so he'd always talk about Ian’s favorite topics with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop.

Mickey’s at his wits end. He pines for Ian, there’s no denying it (well, except to Ian and the rest of the world). He watches Ian’s large hands and longs for them to caress his whole body; Ian’s long fingers prep him and grab him by his hips and…

No. Mickey cannot keep on jerking off everyday to Ian. There’s a limit to how much lube he can steal. He’s afraid to become crazy if he continues like this, but he’s also scared as fuck. Of his father, of Ian, of himself. Mickey has a reputation to withhold, he’s not gay and he has no wet dreams about a certain redhead with a dick instead of a pussy and muscular pecs in place of big tits. This is what he should be.

Only, he’s not. And this has to stop, in a way or another.

 

***

 

It’s not two days later that Mandy and Ian are laughing on the sofa after having smoked a blunt. They are hungry now and the girl gets up to put some pizza bagels in the oven.

That’s when Mickey does something on impulse. He doesn’t even take a breath before taking his shirt off and walking in front of Ian. His mark is perfectly shown on his pale skin. Right in front of Ian’s face.

“Any weed left?” Mickey asks, playing it cool. Ian’s eyes get stuck on Mickey’s mark. “Ay, Gallagher?” Mickey snaps his fingers in front of the ginger, who looks at Mickey in a daze.

“W-What?”

“Weed. Got any?” Mickey asks very slowly. He looks like a disinterested hetero thug and that's just great.

“Oh… no.” Ian replies, his eyes lowering back to the other’s stomach.

“You’re fucking useless, Gallagher.” That’s what Mickey says but the truth is that the black-haired guy is scared. He's glad he has mastered the ability to speak without stuttering through all his years of faking toughness. He wants to run. He wants to throw himself into Ian's arms telling the redhead to make him his. Yet, more than anything, he’s afraid of Ian’s reaction.

The redhead continues to stare and their stalemate is interrupted by Mandy’s return with pizza bagels.

“Fuckhead, I didn't make enough pizza bagels for you,” she says. Mickey and Ian appear to be abruptly woken up from a dream. Mickey takes advantage of the moment to make a run to his bedroom and fucking close it behind him.

He leans his head against the door and takes a deep breath. Now the next move is up to Ian.


	2. Ian

And that's when Ian is introduced. For real. As the co-protagonist.

As well as Mickey's soulmate.

When it comes to his approach to soulmating, Ian is something completely different from Mickey.

Even though his first example of soulmates were his good-for-nothing parents, Ian has always believed in the romantic tale told on every media. Call him a sap, but Ian likes touching his mark and thinking about his soulmate. Who he is, where he is. How old is he? Is he kind? Will it be love at first sight or will it be gradual, taken step by step?

There are no specific rules about soulmates. They haven't more common interests than others, or same allergies or whatever. They are simply meant to be.

But it's so hard to find the other half. Many people will live their life never meeting them. Thanks to the internet and better transportation, the percentage has significantly lowered down, but it's still not enough. Ian is still afraid he will die before feeling whole. He tries to appear strong and secure, but deep down he fears that his hope will be nothing than that. Hope.

Ian was both excited and nervous when he first filled out his account on ‘meetyoursoulmate.com’. Anxiety reached a new high when he clicked on the MATCH button. When he saw the sentence 'No account match your mark', Ian felt so sad. He knew it didn't mean "Nobody wants you" but it felt like it.

His soulmate wasn't born yet, or he was too old to know how to use the internet, or he lived in some far away country with no access to the net, or... or...

Or he didn't want Ian. He didn't want his soulmate.

Now, staring at the guy's belly, Ian thinks it might be the last option.

Because that's his mark. On Mickey fucking Milkovich.

Ian can't do anything more but to keep looking at it, as if the design held the meaning of life on hearth. Or at least _his_ life.

Unfortunately Mandy comes back with pizza bagels and Mickey makes a run for his bedroom.

"Wanna watch something?" Mandy asks, already tapping on the remote control. Ian nods but his thoughts are on the mark he just saw on her brother.

Is that thug his soulmate? For real?

Fuck.

Ian would be lying if he didn't admit that he has a crush on Mickey. Because he has. Ever since he started hanging out with Mandy. No, actually Mickey has not been indifferent to Ian ever since they played Little League together, years ago.

Through the years, Mickey has never once seemed interested in Ian. He always hung out with girls, fucked fat chicks with big tits. Ian thought that that was Mickey's type. The kind with a pussy between her legs.

In other words, Ian likes the guy, he's had more than one wet dream about him, but never once in his sixteen years of life, he thought of Mickey as his soulmate because the thug is straight.

Was this a case of platonic soulmates? If so, Ian would've preferred Mandy.

The other possibility is that Mickey is gay. A deep, closeted gay. Then it's not surprising that Ian has never found his account online. Mickey doesn't want to find that he's linked to a man. Even if he's the man of his life.

Ian is so lost in thought, that Mandy elbows him in his side.

"You daydreaming?" she asks.

Ian shakes his head. No, he's just wondering if Mickey knows that Ian has his same mark.

 

***

 

There is this thing that made Ian thinks he can have some good chances with Mickey.

Is it Mickey's ample vocabulary when it comes to every possible slurs for homosexual? Is it eavesdropping a conversation between Mickey and his father about a fag-bashing?

Not exactly.

Ian finally takes notice of how much Mickey's behavior towards him has changed in the last few months. It happens thanks to Mandy, who's giving Mickey hell for having shoplifted again at the Kash&Grab during Ian's hours.

"You should stop with that shit, you fuckhead! I'm holding you responsible if Ian gets fired!" she shouts.

"Boohoo, I don't fucking care!" Mickey replies. Only that when Mickey's eyes meet Ian's, he blushes and gets out of the house with an impressive speed.

Ian then thinks that yeah, Mickey's has been stealing more frequently at the Kash&Grab, but Ian thought he did it during Kash's shift too. It doesn't take much for Ian to realize how much Mickey has changed these past months. He has started hanging around Ian and Mandy and Ian has discovered Mickey likes many things that Ian likes. Mickey always seems to know what Ian prefers.

Ian doesn't even notice a smile schooling on his face when Mandy asks him if something good has happened.

 

***

 

Ian knocks on the Milkovich's door. This time the first to answer is Mickey, a cigarette hanging at the corner of his mouth. The thug looks at Ian up and down. Is he checking him out? Ian hopes so.

"Mandy's not here," he says, breathing out smoke.

Ian presses his lips together. "Okay... Then I guess I'll be going."

"You can stay if you want," Mickey suggests. "I'm watching a movie. You can wait for her inside."

Ian looks surprised but tries at least to hide his giddiness. "Thanks."

They're on the couch now, apparently watching a movie. Inside, Ian thinks he really like Mickey's smell. He's always liked it. Just as he appreciates Mickey's strong arms, or his thick thighs. The way the shorter guy licks his bottom lip. His bottom lip. Ian'd like to bite it so much. Now that he discovered that Mickey has Ian's same design, that their marks match, his feelings for Mickey have intensified. From just a wet dream, having Mickey is becoming a reality.

A reality so close to him in that exact moment. Their legs touch and Mickey is quick to scoot a little, enough to make their distance buddy-like. For straight buddies.

And yet there are glances. Mickey looks at Ian and Ian looks at Mickey. They're both trying to be subtle about it, but they're both miserably failing. They both look at the other's shirt, longing for them to raise up and revealing the navel and the mark. After having being intercepted by Ian's eyes one more time, Mickey stands up.

"Wanna a beer?"

Ian nods and stares at Mickey's ass walking to the fridge. The thug comes back with two beer bottles already opened.

"Here," Mickey says, holding out the beer for Ian. But the redhead decides to take it as an occasion to touch his fingers around the bottle and so he does. Mickey immediately pulls back and the bottle releases its contents on the redhead.

"Fuck!" Ian shouts, getting up. It's not so cold, but it's certainly not that hot now and his shirt is drenched in beer. Ian takes off his shirt without thinking, but it's Mickey's eyes on his bare belly button that makes him aware that he has just uncovered his mark. Mickey gulps his beer down, heavily. He's staring at Ian and he seems unable to do otherwise.

Mickey huffs a breath and places his beer on the coffee table. He gnaws the inside of his mouth and that's when he makes his decision. The shorter guy takes his shirt off too and throws it on the floor.

Ian glances at Mickey's face first, the way his thumb is now worrying his bottom lip. Nervous. Expectant. Ian's eyes look down at Mickey's mark. _His_ mark. There's only another person on this planet who bears Ian's same mark and he's in front o him, fidgeting. Waiting for Ian's move. Continuing to torture his bottom lip so much Ian's afraid it's gonna bleed anytime.

Ian smiles at him and reaches for Mickey's thumb. He takes it in his hand and kisses it. Mickey looks at him with parted lips. They both touch each other's mark at the same time, as if some force is pushing them to do it. Mickey lets out a breath and stretches his fingers on Ian's skin, tracing the twin mark with his fingertips.

Ian feels his patch of skin burn at the touch. He wants to feel it more. He comes closer, closing the distance between them. Mickey lets him do it, he even trails both his hands down on Ian's sides. It feels amazing. Skin on skin and all Ian wants to do now is to kiss Mickey.

So he does.

And that's when the story ends. It's not important to know what will happen next, if Mandy will discover them, if they'll get into trouble. What matters is that they found each other.

That's more than what most people can say. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and reviews are always appreciated!  
> my tumblr [JAinsel & the Ships](https://jainsel-and-the-ships.tumblr.com)


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